White Rabbits On the Run
by divalicious2
Summary: Remember Charlotte "Down the Rabbit Hole?" Charlotte goes nuts and Dell finds a new use for forceps. I guess you could say my writer's block is over! lol. REVIEW! I wanna know what you guys think. Is it too crazy? Too cray-cray?
1. Chapter 1

Oldies- ;) -Finally this story is going to end up how I want it to. YAY!

"White Rabbits on the Run" (Vanessa Carlton song)

The first twentyfour hours had been the most confusing.

At first he thought he'd gotten the wrong house. Turned up the wrong walkway. Because what he heard didn't make sense when staring at Charlotte King's house.

He knew it was Charlotte's house. But it didn't sound like Charlotte's house. He knew this because he knew this house. It was a quiet house. Charlotte was reserved and didn't want anyone messing with her, or even having the chance of having to be nice to someone- so when she got home from work she stayed home. Wouldn't even go sit on the porch because as she'd put it, "Someone might see me there and think that me standing on my own damn porch is an invitation, saying hey, come talk to me! When really what I'm saying is, this is my damn house and my damn porch. I worked all day dealing with stupid people. I don't want to work anymore dealing with you. Leave me alone."

He'd gotten her a doormat for Christmas. On the top of the mat in dark bold print was printed simply, "Leave".

Charlotte loved it.

He was staring at it right now under his feet. That's how he knew he was at the right house. But from inside that house he heard shrill laughter. Working around children all day it was a sound he could identify. It was a young girl laughing. And definitely not Charlotte King. So, he was curious. He rang the doorbell.

That had proven to be a mistake.

"Hey," he smiled, but that was as far as he got.

Charlotte read him the riot act for showing up without calling. Then berated him for taking what precious little time she had to spend with her relatives- as seldom as it was that they chose to come out to LA.

So seldom it was almost never.

"Coop, this isn't a good time."

"Not a good time? For Charlotte King? The insatiable-"

"_The movie's on!"_

Cooper started. He was surprised again, to hear another voice inside Charlotte's house. Though he was happy to note that at least it wasn't a man's voice.

Charlotte seemed to jump out of her skin and immediately closed the door so that only her face was visible.

Charlotte glanced fertively back inside. "I have to go," she opened the door wide enough to begin pushing him away.

"I'll be sending a patient to you in the morning."

Then the door slammed in his face.

The next morning, he recognized the voice he heard last night. The voice was speaking to Dell. But he was bowled over when Dell hustled over and informed him that Charlotte King's niece, Luanne King was there to see him, more specifically to be seen by him.

He pinched himself.

Nothing.

Was that who was at Charlotte's last night? But why didn't she just say Landry and...he blanked on Landry's wife's name, was in town with the kids?

This makes no sense, was what he was thinking, but then he saw the girl make eye contact with him. Quickly he gave a wide grin, and fumbled for something to say. Something smart. Something that doesn't sound like, who the heck are you, or I had no idea you had an appointment with me.

"So, your aunt is Charlotte King." Is what his brain came up with.

"Doctor Charlotte King," she smiled proudly as she corrected him. "I'm Luanne King, sir. Um, Dr. Freedman, sir," she finished, clearly embarrassed and believing she'd forgotten her manners by forgetting to address him as such in the first place.

He nodded. "Yes, Dr. Charlotte King." He smiled at her embarrassment and southerism.

"You know her?"

Cooper smiled at the innocent sounding drawl the girl had. It was cute. Looking at her it was just uncanny. Cooper laughed in spite of himself.

"I can't believe your aunt is Charlotte King."

This girl looked like a disheveled Charlotte, though right away Cooper recognized Landry's eyes. But in action and manner? Nothing like her. Where Charlotte King was tightly wound, closed, and angry, her brother's progeny was innocent, quiet and open.

"So, you do know her?"

Cooper startled out of his thoughts.

"Yeah," he answered quickly, hoping he'd been listening, "yeah I do. We've worked together for some time."

"Oh."

Cooper made quick work of leading her back to an exam room, then slowed his pace when he realized she wasn't keeping up. She was lugging a large green tote bag. It looked like she was carrying cement and stumbling under the weight of it, her steps awkward, her gait uneven and sideways.

"Well, if your aunt sent you here," Cooper smiled and patted a hand to the exam table, "I guess I'm going to have to examine you."

"Oh." Luanne seemed taken aback. "I thought, well, I thought maybe she sent me here just to talk, or something."

He looked at her with open confusion.

"Well, I mean," she explained, "Aunt Charlotte's a doctor and all, if there was something wrong, wouldn't she just be able to take care of it? Is there something wrong with me?"

"I, I don't know, Luanne."

"And actually, doctors aren't really supposed to medically treat their own relatives. It's, it's like a law or something."

"Well that's stupid. It'd be cheaper if she'd just-"

Cooper had moved to the sink to wash his hands, then pulled out a tray of instruments.

"What are you going to do?"

"Just check a few things, your ears your eyes make sure everything works."

"Oh."

"When was the last time you went to see a doctor?"

"I dunno. Whenever the last time I was sick was."

"When were you last sick?"

"I dunno." She shrugged.

Cooper chuckled. He'd have given the same response at her age.

Luanne thought a moment then added, " I don't get sick. I had to get a check up for school this year, that was it."

Cooper was confused now. If she'd seen a doctor so recently as 6 months ago, why would Charlotte want him to see her niece now?

He decided to ask. It couldn't hurt.

"Why are you here? I mean, do you know why you're here?"

"Beats me," she answered. "My aunt Charlotte said to come. So, I did. Sir," she added belatedly.

Luanne looked at him. "Do _you_ know why I'm here?" She was genuinely curious and obviously had no more idea why she was there than Cooper did. Which meant she couldn't be sick.

So why was she there? Cooper shook his head. It didn't make sense.

Dell ran to the kitchen the moment Cooper and his new patient were out of sight and earshot. It wasn't like he was being unprofessional, he told himself, after all, there weren't real patients around.

In the kitchen where Addison and Naomi were eating breakfast. He opened the door just wide enough to peek his head in.

"Sorry, maning the desk for the time being," he explained, "but- did you know Charlotte King has a niece?"

"I'm sure there's a lot we don't know about Charlotte King, Dell," Naomi answered.

Addison chuckled. "Let's keep it that way," she answered.

"No, she's here!"

"Charlotte?"

"No, her niece. She's here to see Cooper."

"Cooper?" Addison's forehead lined in confusion, and she stood up.

"Thanks for telling us, Dell," Naomi smiled. She was now more excited of the idea of gossip than she was of food. "You go on back to the desk."

Dell nodded and walked back to the desk, knowing that the two women would soon find out all he wanted to know.

Seconds later Addison walked to the desk and grabbed a random file, she then walked back to Naomi, who had positioned herself on the adjacent hallway. Cooper was exiting his exam room with a little girl. Cooper, she noted, looked sick. However, the person who apparently was his patient did not.

She wondered what was wrong with Cooper.

Just then the elevator chimed, and Charlotte King stepped into the practice.

Addison stood with her back to the girl, so that Naomi could see her, while both giving the impression of being immersed in some relevant medical conversation.

"She's a skinny little thing!" Naomi gushed. "She's like a little bird, with bird bone arms, and tiny legs! Oh, she's cute!"

They changed places.

"That beach tote is bigger than she is." The girl had her green tote bag, which was indeed bigger than she was, at her side so that with the handle sticking up, the bag came nearly to her shoulder, and stuck out almost as far as her knee. "You could fit a whole person in there!"

"Move back," she ordered.

Addison changed places again and commented, "Boy for being related to Charlotte King, she certainly doesn't look much like her. Hopefully she doesn't act like her either."

"Definitely doesn't look much like her," she added, looking the girl up and down.

The watched lazily as Cooper and Charlotte exchanged words that were too quiet for them to hear. They kept talking as the girl turned and made her way with Charlotte back onto the elevator.

Addison was saying,

"I mean, look at her hair, it's all matted, it looks like she hasn't brushed it in days and-

"I'm surprised any relative of Charlotte's would go out looking like that. She looks like she crawled out of-"

"Oh, be nice, she's only a little girl!" Naomi admonished her quickly. Though, she had a point. The kid looked as if she hadn't showered in weeks. Still, it was impolite to speak so meanly to a child.

"Yeah," Addison objected, but stil..., " she let her voice trail off then saw something else relevant to add to the observation conversation. "And she's-"

"Pregnant!" Naomi gasped, her mouth dropped open in shock.

-Let me know what you guys think. Does it seem too choppy? I tried to cut it down, but in doing so I hope I didn't screw it up-


	2. Chapter 2

Cooper stormed into her office, without bothering to knock. He walked right up to where she was sitting at her desk, the same as usual, as if she hadn't a care in the world.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Perfectly calm, composed, as if he should already know, Charlotte answered, "It's not our way."

"Are you an alien?!" He shouted. " Not whose way?"

Her lips became a flat line and she glared at him. "Not funny, Cooper."

"I'm not joking. What is wrong with you? Who doesn't tell people- their own boyfriend that-"

"That what, Cooper?" She seemed to be playing with him then. "That they have family staying over?"

He suddenly felt tired and deflated. "You know that's not all there is to it."

"Oh, believe me Dr. Freedmen, I know more than you'd ever want to know."

He sunk down to a chair and put his hands up in defeat. "Would you just tell me, please."

"What did she tell you? That might be a better place to start."

HE felt sickened. "Well, well…." He was so upset he could barely think straight. He was angry, and that was about all he knew at the moment. So, he decided to go with it. "For starters, she was carrying this green beach bag- you could fit the ocean in that thing! It was so big, and she held it in front of her. I didn't even know. I couldn't see half her body-"

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "You think that was an accident?"

He'd been shocked. Flabbergasted was more like it. He'd taken the bag from her to check her heart, and when he turned back to her he saw he had not one but two children in the room with him.

_She'd been apprehensive about his touching her before he'd taken her bag, which she'd been holding to like a lifeline. With it gone she'd been even more squeamish._

"_What are you gonna do to me?" She'd asked. _She'd looked wide eyed at him, worried. No, scared.

_"I'm just going to check your heart and lungs," he'd answered. Trying not to look at it. Yet, his eyes seemed glued to her stomach. Clearly what he'd mistaken for something inside the bag she'd been carrying was in fact something being hidden by the bag she was carrying._

_"You're not lifting up my shirt," she told him._"You're not gonna examine me below the belt, are you?" She raised an eyebrow.

_He made a face. "No, no of course not. Don't need to."_

_"Good."_

_"Well, that's good. Aunt Charlotte said if you tried anything fresh I could taize you."_

_Cooper laughed aloud._

_"Taize me?!" She said that?"_

_Her face was deadpan. "Of course, Dr. Freedmen. She told me to tell you that. Besides, what do you think was in the bag?"_

He continued as though she hadn't spoken, "so that I didn't even know until I had to take the bag away- Charlotte!" His face contorted then showing a tormented man."It was disgusting!"

"You're calling my niece disgusting?"

He shook his head. "She- the- her" he let out a breath trying to compose himself to be able to catch a lucid train of thought, "her being-"

Cooper found suddenly that he couldn't get any further than that. Couldn't say it.

"She's pregnant, Coop," she said as if to slowly spell it out for him. As though it were nothing out of the ordinary. As if it were normal. "And that disturbs you?"

"I wanted to throw up," he muttered, making a face as though he'd eaten something sour or revolting.

She made a face back. Although the face she made was more along the lines of I want to squish you like a bug right now, than his physically ill visage. "Thanks for that. I'll be sure to pass along that information. That oughta get you a good taizing."

"Charlotte! You know what I mean."

She shrugged. "I don't know, Coop," she sighed and for the first time seemed weighed down. In the next instant though, as she inhaled, she sat straight again and was the image of strength and coldness.

She was silent for a long time, refusing to make eye contact. It seemed that she was fascinated with the chemical makeup of her desktop. Then she shook her head and let out a breath with her lower lip stuck out, so that the air made her bangs rise and fall. "I got there in time so that you wouldn't send her straight to Addison Montgomery."

"Was thinking about it."

"I bet you were," she agreed, the side of her mouth puckering up in that smug way that she had. "What, you think my niece couldn't have found her way back to me on her own? I was there to make sure you didn't send her anywhere but back to me."

"Charlotte, she needs to-  
"No."

"Charlotte, she has to have someone-  
"No." She drew the word out this time.

"Do you know what she said to me?" To his amazement his voice had steadied and calmed. "She was clutching that tote bag like it was a lifeline, and when I offered to take it for her in the hallway, she said no."

"She said no?" Charlotte's hands flew up in mock surprise. "Well, that's a revelation."

"She said no, and then she said, "I am holding onto this. With all the thieves and hooligans and homosexuals around in this godforsaken city you live in, I don't want to take any chances. No offense, sir."

Charlotte burst out laughing. "Yup, that's one o' my kind allright!" She laughed again.

"So, her family-"

"That crazy church she goes to," Charlotte corrected.

" has her thinking it's okay to think that people who are different from you are bad?"

"Yup," Charlotte answered frankly hooting with laughter. "Especially if they're a different religion than you are. I mean, if you're say, Baptist, and they're Baptist, then you're just not supposed to judge. But say you're Baptist and they're a," she paused, "to quote my mother "a total heathen" then you try to bring them to Jesus while you judge away." She kept right on laughing.

"Oh, I see."

"Not likely. Coop, it's a Southern thing, you wouldn't understand. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's-"

"Different."

"Something like that."

Cooper let out a long breath, and glanced up at her. "So…"

Charlotte King raised her eyes to the ceiling and sighed loudly. "What?" She asked, her voice sounding tired and irritated. "What else?"

"This girl looks like she's all of ten years old- if not younger. She said she's twelve, and she was reading To Kill a Mockingbird. That's all I know, Charlotte. Tell me the rest. I want to help her. Help you. I want to help you with her."

Charlotte looked down at her desktop and shook her head. "I don't know if I have it in me, Coop. To know all this is one thing, and it's hard enough believe me. But to have to say the words? To you?" She shook her head again. "I don't know if I'm ready for that."

At that, he pushed his chair back and stood up. Charlotte looked up, surprised. Cooper bit his lip and nodded at her. "When you're ready then." He walked to the door and turned back to her. "Let me know when you're ready."

He looked back at her again as he opened the door. She looked back at him, but gave no response. Then again, he knew her well enough not to expect one. Although to be frank, he hardly ever knew what to expect from her as it was.

"You, Montgomery." Charlotte King's eyes were like sparks. Her shoulders were up to her ears and her cheeks were red. She pointed the finger of death at Addison. Or, at least that's how Addison perceived it. The core of the practice was gathered together in the kitchen, all for the moment grateful for the morning lull.

Charlotte took a good look around at everyone and glared. "Oh don't pull your "I'm so surprised" crap with me! Don't think like you all look clueless and innocent! And don't act like you all haven't been in here this whole time talking about my niece!" At that last bit, Charlotte seemed genuinely angry, as opposed to her usual crabbiness.

"You don't go near her."

"And, and you" she looked at Violet with pursed lips and pointed at her stomach, "you with your pregnantness- you don't go near her either."

Violet burst out laughing at Charlotte's diagnosis, not bothering to stop when Charlotte glared at her.

"What?" She asked. "She's pregnant, too, isn't she?"

Charlotte ignored her, and Addison spoke up.

"Charlotte, she needs-"

"No!" The sharpness of the word was like a gun shot. She shook her head so hard her brain was probably rattling. "The two of you, you don't go near her."

"But," Violet composed herself enough to speak again, "she needs to ta-"

"No." she raised her eyebrows, wagged her head at Violet. "Uh, uh Turner."

"Why not?"

"Because she won't like either of you, all right?" She took a deep breath in and swallowed. "You happy now?

"How do you know-

"Because I know my own niece!" She snapped, outraged by the implication that she might not. And neither of you, you don't go near my," Charlotte took a breath in, "you don't go near my niece. You don't go near her," she repeated and swallowed again.

"You're not her type," she clarified.

But-

"She's a lesbian?" Cooper asked the question half serious, half as a joke to break the tension. Charlotte looked at him as though she were trying to make his head explode by thought alone.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He closed his eyes and crossed his fingers. "There's no such thing as lesbians, there's no such thing as lesbians, there's no such thing as lesbians." He stopped and opened his eyes.

Violet laughed and grinned at him. He smiled back.

Charlotte glared at him. "Shut up, Toto." She cut glances at Addison and Violet.

"Just stay away from her."

"So, what?" Pete stepped into the conversation. "You're going to let her talk to Sheldon?"

She made a scoffing sound. "Less talkin' she does the better," she answered low, as if to herself. Then in a louder voice she added, "Sheldon's a turtle. I wouldn't let her go near him."

Pete left the room then, but his distance from them didn't hide the sound of his laughter down the hall.

"She doesn't need to talk to anybody- she has me." Charlotte nodded curtly as if that was all there was to say. "That's all."

And with that she left.


	3. Chapter 3

It'd taken a week for Charlotte to speak to him again. Even so it was only professional, curt and cold. Violet had been pestering him to get Luanne to speak to her, and Addison wanted to examine the kid. Anytime he saw Charlotte, which was rare, it was without Luanne. Apparently she left her back at her house while she worked. He'd had no luck so far for either Vi or Addison.

Clearly, well frankly it was just his own opinion, but he was convinced Charlotte was keeping her niece away from them all on purpose.

From what tiny bit he could glean, Landry'd dropped Luanne off for Charlotte to care for. But, why? That's the part he didn't get. He knew Charlotte wasn't at all happy about it, that he was sure of.

Charlotte was hurting. That much was painfully obvious to him, if no one else. But she couldn't possibly be hurting more than Luanne. Kid trumps girlfriend, he reasoned. He wanted to help them both.

Luanne's eyes'd been the first thing he'd noticed about her. And knowing she was Charlotte's niece, there were only two possibilities as to parentage. The kid had Landry's dark brown eyes. With her fair skin and hair, her eyes looked huge, like a deer's. He'd assumed she was Landry's kid even before Charlotte told him so at the elevator.

Charlotte had said Luanne was Landry's daugher, not Duke's, as if there'd been any question. His memory was foggy on the both of them, but remembered that Duke, not Landry, looked most similar to Charlotte. If he had to place it, he'd say Luanne behaved more like Duke, nice, fun-loving. Landry was very reserved. She looked not much like Landry but perhaps it was comparing the personalities of the two that made them seem disimilar. But to his mind, Luanne looked a lot more like Charlotte and Duke than Landry.

He shrugged. Whatever.

He'd been trying to remember the funeral. The reception at the house. All adults milling around making polite conversation and small talk while eating in the parlor, or seated outside. Mrs. King was up in her bedroom "overwhelmed" by the whole situation. Charlotte was in the kitchen with some of the local women who liked to be kept busy. Occassionally as Charlotte came through the door with a platter of food, he could hear snatches of conversation. "Honey, why don't you go sit down? Or go lie down? You look more worn out than an old tire."

Charlotte would plaster on a smile and say, "No, thank you. I'm just fine, really. Could you grab that bowl of potato salad?"

She was playing hostess. But Cooper could tell she'd just wanted all these people to get the hell out of her house. He'd cornered her once and asked her about it. If she wanted him to see that people got on their way instead of lingering and eating.

"You know, he whispered, "no matter what the circumstance people always linger around food. If there were suddenly a food shortage-"

"Cooper," she glared at him with disapproval. "That wouldn't be polite."

He sighed then, wondering why it was the family of the deceased that was always expected to put on this charade. And tired and grief worn as they were, you'd think the intelligent thing to do would be to have a dinner at a neighbors home.

When he'd walked outside shaking his head, that's when he'd seen them.

Off in the distance there was a small group of girls walking near the pasture. Childish laughter reached his ears and he watched as one girl ran ahead of the others, laughing.

This brought swift action from the tallest girl in the bunch. He'd heard a shout, but couldn't make out the words. Though he imagined it had something to do with having fun when someone'd just died, as the girl quickly fell back in line with the others. All girls were blonde, all wearing varying styles of white dresses, all with a touch of black on them.

He'd found Duke and Landry off with the men on the back patio. Everyone seemed to be divided into groups. The children, for the most part stayed separate from their parents, unless called in for food. The women gathered together in the house with some of the older gentlemen. The younger men Duke and Landry's ages were out back. Cooper had a feeling that was where he belonged, but he couldn't quite abandon Charlotte, and didn't think he, a virtual stranger, who'd taken the King father off life support, would be welcome in the back with the other men.

He'd learned that most of the girls outside were Landry's children. The boys hanging out on the opposite side of the lawn children of neighbors or cousins.

Thinking back on it, he tried to remember seeing Luanne there. He was almost positive she'd been the girl he'd watched running in the field, chin held high and laughing.

"Charlotte," he pleaded to her voicemail, "pick up the phone. Or, call me back. I wanna talk to you. See you. Something...please? Don't shut me out."

With a heavy sigh he ended the call. Putting the phone back in his pocket he stepped out of the elevator and ran right into Charlotte.

She glared at him and started to walk past him into the elevator.

Not about to let her keep this silent treatment up, especially if it meant comprimising the health of a child, Cooper grabbed her gently but firmly by the arm and lead her to an unoccupied corner of the lobby.

He started with, "You can't just hide her away."

"I'm, I'm hardly," she gasped then seemed to change tactics as she finished, "you wouldn't understand Cooper. So nevermind."

"Try me, Charlotte," he hissed, trying to make eye contact. Trying to convince her that he cared, because he did. But she refused to look him in the eye. "Try." He pleaded.

She threw her hands up. "It's not how we do things, okay? Where I'm from, where she's from, things are different. There's a bizarre double standard- and

And what?

"I came here for a reason." she was looking at him now, her eyes fierce. "You think I couldn't have had any job in the whole state of Alabama? There's a reason I came here," she repeated firmly. "Many reasons."

"What's the double standard?"

In a rare hushed tone she explained it for him. "Things are different down in Dixie. It's still a place where not a stone's throw away you or your mother or grandmother were getting married off at twelve or fourteen. Women, girls-" she spat the word out with disgust," still give birth at home with a neighbor to help while the father goes to the other neighbor's house to drink."

"I don't see the double standard."

"I'm gettin' to it!" she snapped.

"It's a disgrace, it's shameful to be pregnant and unmarried. If you have a problem, you're sent away to the farthest living relative,whether you're tweleve or twenty five. Age doesn't matter. Not bein' married, having a bastard kid does."

"A- a problem?"

She glared at him and looked as if she wanted to shoot fire out of her nose because Cooper was making her talk about something she hated. He let out a breath regretting for a moment that he hadn't listened to Addison's advice. "In the family way," she hissed. "You ass."

Charlotte King took a deep breath and continued. "If there's no relatives you stay locked up in the house- the absolute definition of confinement. Either way you can pretend that no one knows. Of course, they're too polite to mention it to your face, but everyone knows."

" But Luanne was raped, doesn't that make a-"

She pursed her lips, and answered, "For the moment I'm going to pretend like you didn't somehow find that out." Then she continued with what she was saying

. "So while my part of the world loves marriage and lots of babies-" Charlotte gasped for air, "having lots of babies or even one if you're not married is shameful." She took a breath, "It's a sin, Cooper."

"But she was raped!"

"You think I don't know that?" She gasped for breath.

Cooper quickly glanced around, as if an oxygen tank would appear by the potted plants of indoor vendor's cart.

She gave a hard glare to the wall for a long time before blowing out her breath slowly. "I try not to think about it."

Cooper realized his mouth was open. He closed it and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Charlotte, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Not upset," she insisted, lying. Her tone was just barely above that of a pouting angry child.

Charlotte looked as if she was going to slap him, but continued anyway sans slap. "And it's not my fault. They didn't want her sent to me in the first place, I mean, good lord California- it's Satan's handbasket! They want her not to see any homosexuality, no violence, and no sex."

"Uh, oh," he grinned, hoping to break the tension, "that's gonna be hard."

She gave him a look that said as clearly as any words, "Shut up, Cooper." In fact, he was starting to wonder if she wanted that engraved on her grave stone.

"Wait a minute, if what you just said about marriage and sin is true, then they think-

"I'm the whore, Coop. I may be a doctor, and chief of medicine, but I'm the family whore. Living in sin."

Cooper laughed aloud. "I'm sorry, but then why did they send her to you?"

"Like attracts like? How the hell do I know?"

With that she spun on her heel back towards the elevators.

It took a moment, but once her words sunk in, Cooper's jaw dropped when he realized that Charlotte just equated her own 'whoreness' with Luanne's rape.


	4. Chapter 4

FYI I scrapped the chap before this for space. It was Cooper at Vi's house with Violet talking to him both about Luanne and Charlotte's separate needs and issues. Violet told him to be more forceful in helping Charlotte face her issues and face him, so that's this chapter. Cooper just decided to show up at Charlotte's door and demand that she speak to him. This is what followed.

"I sent her to her room. She was bein' disrespectful. She also had a screaming fit once she got there, and broke 'most everything in that room. I was gonna beat her ass, but then I figured, what's the point? So I let her be till she exhausted herself and cried herself to sleep."

Cooper raised an eyebrow, and was about to comment until he realized that in all likelyhood whatever he would say would be wrong. Charlotte didn't seem to notice.

"I used to have screaming fits," she was addressing the floor in a trance-like state, holding her wine glass motionless in the air. "Wasn't allowed to say what I thought because a lady was supposed to be quiet. And when I did speak no one listened or they just laughed because I was only a girl, and not worth dirt. So," she breathed in, "I took to screaming. Fall out on the floor, screaming and kicking, throwing things- breaking anything I could come in contact with." She nodded at the memory. "Got myself some grade A ass whuppins, too. Eventually Momma's beatings taught me to contain myself and shut up. However she never managed to beat out my desire to think, and that always came out in my eyes. Then she took to "giving me a talking to' because my eyes would always say what my mouth wasn't allowed to." Charlotte took a sip of wine, shrugged as if it were all inconsequential and glared. "Whatever."

Cooper blinked and shook his head, knowing she wouldn't see it even if she'd had her head turned toward him.

She let a breath out, then sat there for a while. Clearly what Charlotte needed was not conversation. It was just to vent. To talk.

Leaving Violet, he'd shown up in minutes. When he rang the bell, Charlotte opened the door for him, wordlessly, then simply walked through the house till she came to the backyard. Whether or not Cooper was following seemed no concern. For a moment he'd wondered if the stress had caused her to lose her mind, and she really had forgotten that he was there.

There was a glass of red wine on the glass table. She sat down on the red bricks of patio, her bare feet dangling into the grass as Charlotte King faced the high wooden fence of her neighbor's yard. But clearly, Cooper knew, she wasn't seeing it, and facing far more than splintered wood as an obsticle.

She sat in silence for so long, Cooper thought she'd fallen asleep with her eyes open.

Charlotte took a sip from her wine glass then spoke again.

"She threw up this morning."

"Oh?" It seemed like the most intelligent thing to say, considering the circumstances.

"Yeah," the word was dry, her tone so far from the opposite of amused, it was in another galaxy. "Not fun," she added, as if the words were even needed, Cooper considered, which they obviously weren't. Charlotte's voice sounded dead, eyes glaring blankly in front of her. She looked seconds away from sobbing."

"I bet."

She closed her eyes and shook her head, obviously from the memory. She inhaled deeply through her mouth, looking ill.

"She lies in bed all day, sleeps most of the time. Not that I blame her. I wouldn't want to be awake in her reality either."

"That's why her hair is so messed up."

Charlotte just kept talking. Whether or not it was an attempt to keep from sobbing, Cooper couldn't be entirely certain. Her voice was so void of emotion it hurt. It meant the emotions were so painful Charlotte herself was afraid of not just what she felt, but how much she felt about this situation.

" She won't shower either. Well, when she starts smellin' I'm gonna have to submerge her, I'm sure. Beats me how she's not smellin' already. Hell, it's been three days." She sighed. "Least she brushes her teeth an' washes her face. If I could just get her to clean her goddamn hair…."

"She put comforters over the windows so it's dark in there all the time," she rattled off. Now Cooper knew she was speaking as a dam to keep the sadness in, to keep her mind from focusing on feelings by focusing on words and facts instead.

"She won't change clothes unless it's totally dark. How she doesn't end up with bad colors on, I don't know either."

"I guess after all she's been through the last thing she needs is me, tellin' her what to do."

"Charlotte." Cooper ached for her. He felt like he was being beaten.

"I mean, it's not like I'm her Momma."

"Charlotte." He tried again, to get her to stop. To stop just long enough to recognize and feel her emotions. That was what she needed. Keeping it all inside was killing her.

"huh?"

In the time it took her to respond Cooper'd considered that as much help as Charlotte needed, and God did she need help, Luanne needed more. He put his focus there. It seemed safer. Safer at least than asking Charlotte to acknowledge painful feelings in front of him.

"I think she needs to talk to someone."

Charlotte stuck her chin out stubbornly. "She has me."

He shook his head.

"Clearly there's something going on here, something wrong."

"Jesus, Cooper! You just figured that out? She got pregnant when she was 11 years old- that's what's wrong!"

"I thought she was-"

"She turned 12. She just turned 12."

"Oh."

Leaning forward, Charlotte put her elbows on her knees, rested her chin in her hands and stared out into space. After a while, she announced, "It's time to go, Coop."

Wordlessly he rose, walked over to her and leaned in to give her a peck-

Charlotte put up a hand in his face. "Don't even think about it." She kept her gaze fixed straight ahead, staring at nothingness.

He sighed, loud and hard enough he was certain to be audible, but he didn't care. He felt weighted down by this, as if he were Atlas.

"Night," he whispered.

LINE BREAK HERE CHANGE IN TIME AND SPACE HERE.

Cooper was headed for the refrigerator, but didn't get five steps into the room before Pete asked him what was wrong.

"It's Charlotte," he began.

Pete just looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Cooper considered how Charlotte had behaved before last night, when she was speaking with emotion. Entirely different from last night's scene. She'd had no difficulty in speaking without emotion. No trouble breathing. But when there was emotion she couldn't hide?

"It's like she can't breathe." He began walking around the room, forgetting the refrigerator entirely, pacing in a circular motion. "Like she's drowning. She's always gasping for air when she speaks."

Pete's gaze narrowed thoughtfully and Cooper slowed to a halt in front of him. "When she speaks in general or-"

"When she's talking about Luanne," he admitted. "And feeling things," he added, knowing Pete would know what he meant.

He nodded slightly. "Hmm."

"Hmm, what?"

Pete shrugged a shoulder. "Well, Charlotte King is tightly wound, she's controlled. She controls herself. She refuses any emotional display but anger, and I'd bet she refuses to let herself cry more often than not."

He sighed and looked up in thought for a moment before continuing. "Clearly Luanne's pregnancy affects her. She has to feel for the girl. But if in all this time she hasn't allowed herself to grieve for the innocence and childhood her own niece has lost….."

He shook his head. "She's holding it all in, Coop. My guess is that she's having trouble breathing, because when she's talking about Luanne, any time she opens her mouth, she's trying not to cry."

There was a sudden sharp, scoffing laugh.

"Is that your professional opinion, Dr. Wilder?"

With his back to the door, Cooper winced at the sound of the voice behind him. He looked at Pete and Pete's eyes confirmed it.

He reluctantly turned to face Charlotte who was standing in the doorway.

Charlotte had one eyebrow raised, her mouth a grim line, and her head cocked to the side- as though she were actually awaiting an answer.

Before he would have had time to give it, she continued, "Just here to drop something off for Montgomery."

She turned on her heel and left.

"Charlotte!" Cooper cried out, and hurried after her. When he caught up to her and put a hand to her shoulder she shoved it off.

"Don't touch me, Freedman. It's nice to know I'm being talked about behind my back, she hissed." She punched the elevator button with her finger.

"I, I was concerned about you," he whispered. "I am concerned about you."

She snapped her head around to look at him just as the elevator doors opened. "Then you tell me, Cooper! You tell me!" With a huff she got on the elevator, pressed the close button, crossed her arms and waited for the doors to make him disappear.


	5. Chapter 5

At the knock on her closed door, Charlotte looked up from files HR sent her.

"Come in," she responded sounding completely the professional and even a little cheery, when really what she'd wanted to say instead was, "Go away!"

When the door opened slowly, Charlotte wished she'd pipped up with her original thought of "go away".

She glared at the figure in the doorway, and focused on just how this individual had opened her door, annoyingly. Even though Charlotte had not responded to the knock with even the slightest hint of irritation, this person had opened the door slowly, timidly, as if they were afraid.

Weak, she decided.

It figures, she thought.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She demanded.

Violet Turner smiled an automatically apologetic smile while at the same time she ducked forward, in something that resembled a bow and a curtsy as her chosen way into Charlotte's office.

Further into her office, Violet repeated the same movements, the dopey weak smile and the completely non-alpha dog bow that made her seem nervous, but Charlotte knew it was a stupid shrink affectation used to demonstrate that they weren't threatening.

Charlotte smirked slightly when she realized Violet doesn't even know she's doing it!

She wanted to laugh aloud then, but held it in.

Sure I'm superior to you, Charlotte willingly acknowledged, but you're not supposed to act so soppy.

Uninvited Violet sat down on the chair across from her desk.

Now she smiled at Charlotte the way a patronizing old person will when you're a small child and they're about to give you a shot, or talk baby talk to you.

"I thought you might want to talk about your niece, Luanne," she spoke finally, her words as careful and coated with sugar as they were with lies. Deciet. She's up to something.

Charlotte looked at her as if she'd just said, "you're a doctor". The most obvious thing in the world. It wasn't a shock. She knew Cooper's crazy nosy friend would try to pry her nose into this god-awful business.

It wasn't going to happen.

"Why the hell would I wanna do that?" She demanded.

Violet gave her that smile again and Charlotte backed up in her chair as if Violet were contagious with the plague.

She looked at Violet as if she were seeing something horrible. Jesus, this girl's so fulla sap she might as well be a maple tree in soft winter.

"Well," Turner continued in the tone morons used with two year olds, and as if Charlotte had not once again expressed dislike, "I thought it might be a good idea to talk about this new situation you've found yourself in. I thought you might like to talk about your feelings about the situation and how Leanne is coping with her trauma."

Charlotte could feel the corner of her mouth lifting and drawing back in an almost involuntary sneer of disgust.

Charlotte snorted. She felt contempt, but it was also a short laugh.

"You're a horrible liar, you know that? You know that's a damn lie. You know I'd never wanna talk to you."

She looked at Violet not bothering to even say what they both knew.

She held up the file in her hands. "I got work to do, Turner. In case you haven't noticed this isn't the beauty parlor gossip shop it's a hospital," she repeated as if Violet were brain damaged, "we got work to do here, or people die. Maybe you don't know, but that's what real doctors do."

Used to being attacked verbally by defensive patients, Violet showed no response to Dr. King's defensive tactics.

"You seem to have been very busy lately," Violet ventured, making it more into a statement than a question in the end.

"Well, gee Violet," she pursed her lips, sarcasm and anger and disgust all mixed together and dripping off her every word,

"I can't imagine why. I only am a practicing actual doctor, not the nut job shrink kind," she continued to scowl at Violet but now the corners of her lips lifted slightly and her eyes twinkled as she spit out that particular jab, Charlotte paused for emphasis, took a deep breath in and continued,

"I run an medical practice filled with the most highly respected and sought after doctors and medical specialists in the country," she took another breath in,

"and oh yeah," both hands came up in emphasis, "I also run an entire hospital." Now she glared at Violet, and let her hands drop.

Her voice became a growl as she said, "Yeah. I'm. Busy."

Each word was sharp as a bullet, and sounding none too happy.

"Charlotte," finally the woman used her normal not talking to crazy people or little children voice- which reminded Charlotte to feel sorry for that poor child Turner was about to spit out.

"If you don't want to talk about how you're doing."

"Definitely not to you," she answered.

"You should at least strongly consider getting someone for Luanne to speak to about what happened to her."

"And you think that person should be you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Lord, that'd be a mess. Oh yeah, take the girl who doesn't wanna be reminded that she's pregnant or how babies are made, and sure as the breath I'm breathin' doesn't wanna think about how this baby got made in her," Charlotte took two gasping breaths in and continued quickly,

"And have her sit there starin' at you, who'll also be a reminder of what what happened to her every single second she's around you."

"Yeah," Charlotte rolled her eyes, "I'm sure she'd really wanna do that. Especially since seein' you she's gonna keep thinkin' about what she's gonna look like a couple months down the road."

Violet watched silent and wide-eyed as Charlotte put a hand to her chest.

"Get out!" She barked, after gasping another breath in.

Concerned, Violet pushed herself up and forward off the chair, and toward Charlotte reaching a hand out to her-

Charlotte slapped it away.

"Unless you're here to 51-50 someone in the nut-ward," she gasped, "get outta my hospital."

"You've got my man living at your house, you're not takin' Luanne too," she added.

Violet was going to, as professionally as possible, correct Charlotte King on her incorrect and insensitive statement, but judging from the look on the small ball of fire's face, Violet decided silence was golden and wordlessly made her way out of the Chief of Staff's office.

The moment the door was closed and Violet could hear sounds of life in Charlotte's office, she dialed Cooper's cell.

_"How'd it go?"_

She rolled her eyes and started walking his way, turning off her cell phone.

"Cooper," she announced to the seemingly empty hallway, "come out. I know you were listening at the door."

Impish grin and all Cooper stepped into her path from the adjacent hallway.

"How'd you know I was here?"

She smiled at him. "You drove," she answered.

"Yeah," he answered. "But I said I'd stay in the parking lot and wait for you."

Violet just smiled.

"Did you see it?" He asked her, completely serious now.

Violet felt badly for him. Cooper's love for Charlotte was almost painful.

She nodded, reminding herself to keep her shrink talk and training to herself about this. "I did," she answered instead.


	6. Chapter 6

Naomi Bennett blinked. She'd never seen a middle school aged child sucking their thumb. But there Luanne was, thumb firmly stuck in mouth.

Luanne King was silent and wide-eyed. Silent possibly due to the appendage in her mouth, but also because she was taking everything in. Luanne King was observant. She watched people. Naomi wasn't beneath admitting that she watched this Luanne girl.

She watched her looking over the staff as Charlotte King barked orders. Saw her look of disgust when the child saw that Violet was pregnant. Luanne physically crunched herself backward in the seat, as if trying to get away from Violet, or her own truth. Guess Charlotte was right about that, Naomi admitted.

Saw the girl's tween crush type of shy interest in Dell, which admittedly gave her hope.

Watched her silently watching Cooper and Pete and Sam, lips puckered, eyes narrowed, trying to read them and figure them out. Naomi glanced at them quickly, and silently prayed that they would all know enough to stay away from the girl who'd just been raped by a man.

Then Naomi laughed aloud when she saw the girl sizing up Addison Montgomery with an eye roll. When Addison looked a question at her with her eyes, as Charlotte King hadn't left yet, sadly, all Naomi could do was smile and shake her head.

After Charlotte King was finished giving them instructions and announcing, not asking, that the Oceansiders would be watching her niece for the day, she turned to give her niece instructions.

"Sit down, shut up, and do what you're told."

Charlotte King nodded, as if confirming that to herself, then without a hug, or kiss or another word, she turned on her heel, went into the open elevator and left her niece behind.

Naomi shuddered. _Yikes_.

And because she wanted to undo whatever damage the Chief of Staff had already inflicted upon the girl, leaving her at home alone, or simply for the girl to have to live with Charlotte King, Naomi swooped in the moment Charlotte's skinny butt was enscounced in the elevator.

"You're with me," she smiled. "I'm Dr. Bennett."

She knew she was the best choice for babysitter, and given Charlotte's stated objections to the other women in the practice in relation to young pregnant Luanne, Naomi Bennett knew that she was the only choice.

So now, the kid was stuck to her like glue. Even if Cooper hadn't told them all about Luanne's lack of self-care, Naomi would have been stuck back.

Luanne King followed Naomi Bennett around like a puppy. Anywhere Naomi went, so went Luanne. Fortunately Luanne obeyed Naomi's every word. Naomi knew this was good news. It might also prove to be useful in the days and weeks and months ahead. But for right now, Naomi simply told Luanne when she had a patient, upon which the girl would silently make herself scarce. She didn't tell her what types of patients she saw, and she made a concious effort to steer her clear of any of Addison's pregnant patients.

Over the long hours of the day, Naomi would have to be blind not to notice that Luanne tried to be as near to her as possible. Frankly, Naomi enjoyed it. Luanne behaved the way she wished all children would, as sweet, innocent children. The thumb in mouth at the moment only made the girl seem all the more child-like.

She wants love, Naomi considered. Meaning wants for, as in needs love. The poor child seemed starved for it. Starved for attention and care, and that was sad. Clearly Charlotte King was no serogate mother. Bennent was convinced that if she asked, Luanne would come stay with her. Would probably beg to sleep in bed with her. In spite of her rape, the child craved physical contact- no, comfort. Naomi was happy to oblige. She acted not younger than her age, but certainly sweeter, than girls her age in LA.

Naomi thought she acted the way 12 year olds acted when she was 12. Young. Innocent. They didn't know about so many things that children today were exposed to and took for granted. The plus side was that this child had obviously lived a safe, sheltered life. The downside was the child's lack of attention, which was an upside for Naomi Bennett. She missed a girl who wanted physical contact with her, wanted to be near her. When Maya was 12 she wanted nothing to do with her. In fact, she'd been acting 16 since she was nine. Too cool to be around mom. Too cool to let mom touch her, hug her. Too cool to let Mom braid her hair.

But Luanne King wasn't. And Naomi smiled the smile she'd been smiling for the past half hour, enjoying brushing Luanne's hair over and over again, like a Barbie doll, grateful she had no patients. She missed having a child who wanted to be near her.

Of course, this was after she'd forced the girl under a sink to have her hair washed, and due to Cooper's admitted lack of washing or brushing her hair for months, Naomi had to cut out chunks of it, as knotted as it was. But at least she did a decent job of it. Luanne King now had a nice neat bob haircut, instead of a tangled mess of stringy hair that made her look like a cave dweller.

_I wonder what Charlotte King is going to have to say about this._


	7. Chapter 7

_BB- as I always say my reviewers are often who inspire me to write and give me new ideas/perspectives. Thanks for re-doing your reviews! I had the settings wrong. If anyone else has problems reviewing, let me know via PM. _

Charlotte King stared at the half empty bottle in front of her, and the empty bottle of pills in her hand. She was glad Luanne was at Cooper's practice. Wasn't about to let the kid see her like this. She sure didn't want her getting any ideas.

She'd lied. She wasn't going to the hospital. She did have work to do there, but she'd lied. When she dropped Luanne off, she said it was because she had work to do at the hospital, and Cooper'd whined about her having Luanne stay all by herself at home, so "here you go," she'd said. "Thank Cooper." And then, with a quick reminder to Luanne, she left.

But she'd headed straight here. To her couch. With her locked door. Her locked, and, she looked up, barricaded door. This was how she got through the nights. And days.

Now she thought back to when Sam Bennett was ass enough to ask questions, and Violet being Violet. Charlotte wasn't stupid. She sure as hell wasn't going to tell them the truth. Naturally, sadly, enough of it came through, she knew that, through the small truths she did say as well as what she didn't.

To hell with them, she thought. To hell with all of them. They don't know me. They don't know what I've been through.

Violet Turner with her nosey questions. "You sleep alone?" "You haven't had sex?"

She rolled her eyes, remembering the sickening disgust she'd felt for the woman two years ago when she was desperate enough to sit in her office. Desperate for sleep, that was all. Or, all she'd admit to that crack-pot.

"I have sex, they just don't sleep over."

The nosey bitch.

She'd wanted to be excited she'd finally found someone as alone as she was. Well, she wasn't. They were nothing alike. Nothing.

Violet Turner was nuts. And Charlotte? She was together. She was put together, held together. She was strong. Look how far she'd come. Look what she'd accomplished. Look what she'd made of her life, in spite of everything.

She looked back at the booze, which she was currently consuming, and the bottle of pills. The date on them had nearly been rubbed out by time. The bottle was years old. And, if she were a crazy hoarder, which she was not, she'd have bottles all the same for a good ten years before this one. And back when she'd started stealing her mother's pills. Pills were the only thing that even came close to covering up her pain. Not nearly close enough. That's when she'd started drinking too.

Getting her the pills wasn't a problem, not when Mama considered it was either that, fix the problem, or let Charlotte keep running her out of meds. She chose to let young Charlotte get her own pain meds from her own doctor. One who knew how to keep a secret. He'd never asked questions.

He was a shitty doctor, Charlotte thought for the millionth time. She glared at the floor as if looking at his face. Asshole. If he'd done his damn job, she looked at the pill bottle, I wouldn't need these. If anyone in that house had done their damn job, I never would have.

"Bastards," she muttered.

She felt guilty for the thought that followed, so she shoved it out of her mind and looked at the heavy file cabinet she'd shoved in front of the door, instead.

"I'm still better than Violet Turner," she told the empty room. "She's nuts on the outside, too."

She meant the outside world.

Charlotte knew what she looked like on the outside. Mean, scary.

It was better than Scared, terrified, shaking with fear, damaged forever. Mean and scary was better than the truth.

"I deserve a damn Oscar," she muttered considering her considerable acting talent.

No one knew, did they? Of course not. Because Charlotte King was good.

She held the bottle up to the filing cabinet in salute.

"To whatever gets you through the day."

Is anybody still reading? Just wanna make sure.


	8. Chapter 8

She wasn't above lying. She still took drugs, just not narcotics. Well, not normally. She was no idiot. Her primary care physician was in Burbank. She'd gone out of her way, even giving a false address fake job etc to ensure that her own doctor didn't know she was one. Which meant having to play really really dumb. Like acting like she didn't know what the word placebo or 'beta-blocker' meant. Asking, "What does that do, exactly?" And trying not to let her eyes glaze over listening to the answer.

Again she was no fool. She knew that if anyone at that office were to really bother looking into anything they'd discover she was a doctor herself. But she didn't want to be 'on' here, especially considering why she was there, why she traveled all the way to Burbank California, and said she lived there.

It's also where her shrink was. She did her homework. Checked the hospitals her doctors had privliges to, as well as where they'd gone to school, done their residencies, which accolades they had, and what conferences they attended. When she'd found people who had a slim to none chance of knowing who Dr. Charlotte King was, she went in for an 'interview' to test them out.

Technically it was wrong to lie to your doctor, but Charlotte King reasoned long ago that it wasn't that bad if you were one yourself, and all you lied about was your residence, and profession. She said she was a company executive, which was pretty damn close to the truth. Close enough anyway. At least she didn't lie about what mattered- why she was there in the first place. She needed help.

It took three tries to find a primary, and a fourth to find a primary who didn't have any problem prescribing beta-blockers for a patient with PTSD, and who didn't require some damn evidence from a therapist saying she had the 'disease'. The therapist was just for back-up. But even he'd said Charlotte was 'out of my league' and he'd done 'all I can do' to help her get over her triggers.

Nothing they'd done had helped her PTSD symptoms. Not really.

More like a damn life sentence, she thought bitterly. But at least she had pills, even if they felt like popping Pez candies for all the good they did. But it was something. Something to say she had some control over this hell.

Not that the pills did much good. Or, she reasoned, she was so stressed now with Luanne's presence the pills weren't working. She'd popped a few 'emergency' anxiety pills just to be on the safe side. They weren't helping. Which was why she'd holed herself up in her home with a blocked door, a baseball bat a loaded gun and booze.

Her muscles were so tense right now she was in agony. She tried like hell not to think about why.

"I need ta relax," she told the empty room. With a slightly evil Cheshire-like grin she picked up her cell phone.

"Hey, Cooper," she practicaly sang to the voice on the other end.

"C'mon over to my place," she hissed.

She could almost see his shocked reaction.

"Is this why you left Luanne over here?" He asked.

Charlotte giggled. That was the booze talking.

"Yes."

It was only half a lie. And right now, maybe not even a lie. She was glad Luanne was gone. She couldn't very well have sex with Cooper with the kid there, now could she?

"You're at the hospital?"

Shit! Now she remembered the lie she'd told him and his practice.

"I stopped by the house to pick something up," she excused. True. She'd picked up the filing cabinet to move it to block the front door.

"And," Cooper drew the short word out, and Charlotte could hear the smile on his face, "you want me to stop by and pick you up?"

She grinned again. Sex. Yay! "Yes indeed," she answered.

Hanging up the phone she laughed again. Sex definitely was better than drugs. She pushed herself off the couch to hide her pill bottles, brush her teeth, and push the filing cabinet back into her bedroom.

Hmm. So only one of you is reading, oh wait, two. Well, I hope one of you two has input. Otherwise this is going to be a dull story. ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Charlotte's eyes were glazed over. She stared fixedly at, or at least in the direction of, the glazed blue bottle that spun beneath her fingers. She stared at it, watched it's movement, until nausia forced her to look away, at something still instead.

Cooper hadn't been that big of a help. Or, not enough of one. But that was her own fault. If she hadn't gotten herself into this mess...

Of anyone she had no excuse. It was pathetic, beneath her, yet here she was again.

Violet never asked about any of this. She didn't know. No one did. Except for Sam. But for all he knew she simply had difficulty swallowing meds. A lot of people did. All she'd said was that she 'used to have a problem with that.'

"Oh to hell if he does know," she muttered to the dark and empty house. "He needs to keep that damn mouth of his shut."

Charlotte sighed, feeling her thin ribcage collapse with the exhale. "Him and his perfect smile, perfect life, and that damn book of his. Just think happy thoughts," she mocked in a high-pitched sugary tone.

"Bullshit."

She felt poisonous, deadly. Angry.

"This is all my fault," she thought. And that pissed her off even more.

Except, it wasn't her fault. Not all of it, anyway. Oh no, she'd definitely had some help along the road in that department.


	10. Chapter 10

It was obvious that something was wrong.

Charlotte King was acting...off, lately. Specifically, within the past day or so. Word around the office was that she hadn't snapped at a single person all week. Not one. If someone wanted something signed, she signed it. If someone was bothering her, she waved them away, or just walked away.

And she hadn't said a word about Naomi's stylist job on Luanne.

Addison cornered Cooper in his office to address the matter.

"So, how are things with you and Charlotte?" She smiled.

Cooper raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound suspicious," he lied.

She shrugged a shoulder.

"I was just wondering how things are going," she continued, "you know with Luanne and all. I'd imagine it would be pretty difficult to have a relative dumped on your doorstep."

"What's going on, Addison?" He wasn't buying this for a second.

"Nothing! I was just wondering..."

Cooper laughed. "You're not a very good liar, you know that?"

Self-conciously, she pushed a strand of hair back. "I try not to do it often," she excused.

"But I really do want to know what's going on."

"Meaning?"

"She hasn't been acting like herself lately."

_She was yesterday._ He barely kept himself from saying the thought, and embarrassed, he quickly turned to his filing cabinet and faked searching for a file. He was even worse at lying than Addison was, and could already feel his cheeks reddening by their warmth.

He tried to shrug nonchalantly, face still facing downward, away from Addison.

"What makes you think she's not herself?"

"Well, she leaves her niece here, presumably so that she can get some work done and not have her home alone. But I hear that she hasn't been at her practice or at the hospital much at all."

"Hearsay," he countered. He knew Charlotte. Charlotte King was a workhorse. She worked more than he did. She was a workaholic.

_Not to mention a sexaholic._ Stop that! He chided himself.

"She's always at work. She has to be."

Addison shook her head. SHe was at the hospital more than he was. She hadn't seen the tiny blond all week. She wasn't going to say she missed her presence, but it was definitely a noticible absence.

"She hasn't yelled at anyone all week." So said the few nurses who had seen her. That, and she was seen leaving the hospital as soon as possible each day that week, and she'd come in looking like warmed up crap.

Addison stood still and looked at Cooper, who'd finally straightened up to meet her gaze. She said the statement as if it made her entire argument.

"She's had a lot on her plate," he offered.

"Cooper, I think you need to really look at this situation. Charlotte needs help."

"She's fine," he answered. "It's her niece that needs the help."

"I won't argue with that. But," she began to walk away then paused, "I think this might be more than Charlotte can handle."

With a sweet smile towards him as goodbye, Addison walked out of Cooper's office.

"Tell me something I don't know," he answered to the empty room.

Short, I know. It seems to be a trend, lately. Review anyway. I'm having a bit of writer's block on this story as you can probably tell.


	11. Chapter 11

_"Cuz all I see are stilletos, guess I never got the memo."_

Thankfully Luanne King had earphones in blaring music loud enough for everyone else to hear as well, when Charlotte King saw her last. So the small southern girl neither saw nor heard what happened as she was walking barefooted around the near-empty practice at lunch time, her back to the elevator and her aunt.

But that's not what Charlotte King saw. Charlotte King saw a kid with hair the color of corn walking completely barefoot wearing cut off overall with the side tabs undone, looking like her worst nightmare. This was not how she'd looked when the two'd left the house this morning.

"That girl is like every southern stereotype rolled into one!" She said this aloud to no one in particular, not loudly, just an aloud observation. However, when Cooper approached she grabbed at him and hissed,

"How can you let her walk around like that?"

"She's fine." Cooper was very concerned by the seemingly exagerated concern of Charlotte.

"She looks like a knocked-up southern hick!" Forgetting herself, Charlotte let the jugement roll from her lips in a volume that matched her fury.

The jugement was loud enough for the staff of the practice to hear, it's sharpness and crack carrying. But Luanne, ipod cranked loud enough for other's to hear, heard nothing but her own music, continued walking, oblivious down the end of the hall and rounded the corner.

"Well," Cooper drew the word out, not certain at all how to respond, "she is knocked up?" He looked a question at her.

Charlotte looked like someone was choking her. Eyes bulging as if seeing something horrible, jaw tight, chest heaving for air.

"You let her walk around like that?" Her voice cracked then and it was clear Charlotte was trying her very best to hold back tears.

Naomi walked up, having heard, like the rest of the practice that Charlotte was there, and the rather loud, unflattering jugement she'd flung at the back of her relation.

"What she had on didn't fit, Charlotte." She was trying, really trying to be patient here.

Again it seemed as if an invisible hand were squeezing Charlotte's throat.

"What did you do?" Charlotte questioned as if she'd beaten Luanne or done something horrific.

"Honestly?"

She raised an eyebrow. When Charlotte's face said she was game for anything Naomi had to answer, she spoke again.

"I took her to the store. I knew what would fit her, and that no place around here would have what she needed." She left out the fact that the girl didn't need other girls her age or older staring at her and for that reason she'd intentionally kept her away from the mall.

"You took her outside?"

"Yes."

"In public?" Charlotte voice cracked with dismay and disapproval, and panic.

Clearly Charlotte King's form of concern was dead opposite to Naomi's form of concern.

"Well, yes Charlotte," she answered back barely containing her disdain, "she's not a carrier of plague, after all."

"You have her looking like some hill-billy He-Haw reject!"

"I think she looks cute." Cooper smiled, trying to diffuse the situation.

She cut her eyes at him. "You don't know anything about this."

"Charlotte, she-"

"No," she cut Naomi off, "No! I won't have her embarrassed!"

"She's not."

"Oh, save me that crap! Everyone around here's laughin' at her! Oh, look at the pregnant girl," she mimicked the sound of mocking voices, "what a slut."

"No one is saying that!"

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him. "Not you," she meant all the adults, "your patients," she corrected, certain.

"And you know," she gasped for breath, "what happens next?" Her voice went up a notch at the word next.

CHarlotte took another visible gulp for air and finished, "They think about the parents. What horrible parents to let this happen," she took in another this time shaky breath, "to let this kid have sex. Or they'll think it serves her right." Everyone present knew Charlotte meant 'serves her right' meant Luanne being pregnant serves her right for being a slut and having sex. "What was the mother doing while her daughter was sleeping around?" She asked. "Probably snorting crack and sleeping around too!"

"I won't have my family embarrassed!"

Cooper warily looked at Naomi, then at Charlotte and took a careful precautionary step backward. "Ookay.." he held his hands up as well as if to ward off an attack. He felt like he was trying to escape unscathed from a hungry lion. Or, a pissed off one.

His glance again at Naomi said, I have no idea what to do here.

Naomi looked to her side without moving her head and her sideways glance met Violet's eyes across from her. Violet was looking at her with an expression that clearly said _I told you so_.

Naomi just nodded.

Charlotte, for the first time, glanced around at the practice members in earshot who were staring. "Don't act like what I say isn't true. You know it is. If you say when a stranger sees a pregnant girl walkin' around they don't think "what a slut", you're lying. That's bull and you know it!"

She had to take in two breaths this time before continuing. She was struggling. Not just to breathe, but to look like the in control Chief of Staff who was also in control of this situation and this moment right now where she was for whatever reason thisclose to losing it, or, passing out from lack of oxygen.

"No one looks at a pregnant child or a pregnant teen and thinks oh, they've probably been raped, the poor thing," the face of pity Charlotte made was shocking, since it was so uncharacteristic. In a flash it was gone, the moment she'd made her point.

"No one," she repeated, her voice cold and hollow sounding.

Luanne was now coming down the third hallway towards them. Charlotte's face contorted in disgust, her lip curling.

"She looks bad enough as it is." It was said as fact. A depressing fact.

Naomi's jaw dropped. Addison, drawn to the joy of conflict with Charlotte King like a bear to honey, zeroed in and grabbed Naomi's hand before she could slap Charlotte.

Naomi visibly resented Addy's interfearance spitting out, "You should not be taking care of that child! You shouldn't be taking care of anyone's child!"

"Okay," Addison forced a nervous laugh and began pulling Naomi backwards, dragging her before she could brawl with St. Ambrose's Chief. "I think we'll be going to the kitchen now," she excused, walking backward and still pulling Naomi along with her as she did.

As the duo made their exit, Luanne approached, her bare shiny feet padding lightly on the floor. Once her relation had neared her, Charlotte pulled the wire attached to her earbuds, yanking them out of Luanne's head so that she winced.

_" Here I come straight out of my mind or worse, another chance to get burned."_

The lyrics blared in the space.

_More Miley Cyrus_. Cooper cringed. The kid didn't seem to have anything else but that kid, Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson. And not just on her ipod.

_"You got the one big hesitation pushed aside. It's sooner than I thought, but you caught my heart,"_

"Why the hell aren't you wearin' shoes?"

"Christ, bare-foot an' pregnant!" She added, disgusted, before Luanne could get a word out.

Pissed off at the music as she was at anything else, Charlotte yanked the phones from their port in the ipod, getting silence with hasty speed.

"You know how many diseases and germs you can pick up barefoot?" She shoved the silenced device at her kin, barely able to look her in the eye.

"Let alone walking around in a medical practice? Shit, even I know I'm more likely to get sick cuz I work at a hospital! These places are not clean, Luanne. You'd be safer runnin' around outside!"

"Wow! Okay," she eyed the woman and backed away just as Cooper had. "Don't have a cow!"

"Get back here!" Charlotte barked, yanking the kid back within close-earshot.

"Answer the question!"

Luanne shrugged, obviously both confused and concerned over Charlotte King's concern, which she knew to be anything but actual concern.

"I couldn't tie my shoe," she answered.

"What?"

"You're not a five year old, Luanne."

Luanne just pursed her lips and glared. "Don't act like I'm stupid-"

"Don't sound like it," Charlotte countered. "You know how to tie your damn shoe!"

"What is wrong with you?"

"Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me!"

Luanne glanced around for back-up. Sure enough the people she'd seen walking the halls regularly were within view. I wonder if any of them have a tranquilizer gun, she considered.

"I didn't say I couldn't tie my shoe," she corrected. "Oh wait, yeah I did. Well, I mean I was unable to tie my shoe," she corrected herself again.

"I couldn't reach it. I couldn't maneuver around this thing," she pointed to her protruding abdomen in case Charlotte needed clarification.

From the look on her face, Luanne couldn't tell if her aunt were about to vomit or slap her in the face.

"I realized that this was going to be a problem, and that most likely my other should would come untied and I wouldn't be able to tie that one either, plus the fact that these shoes hurt my feet alot, so I took them off," she explained.

Luanne shrugged again. "And now I can't get back into them."

"Well, that'll teach you," Charlotte admonished.

Charlotte opened her mouth to bark an order, but was shut down by Dell Parker.

"Done!"

He was running down the hall with a puffy looking pair of white lace up sneakers laced with neon laces. He held them up as some form of proof.

Charlotte glared. _Those are not her shoes. _

Luanne however squealed like a five year old and jumped up and down clapping her hands for joy.

"Thanks, Dell!" She gushed, reaching a puffy hand out to take them from him.

He stopped her. "Wait! You're going to need help-"

"She's not a cripple," Charlotte announced.

Dell ignored her.

"Pick up one foot,"

Charlotte glared, watching as the kid shoed Luanne like a horse.

"Now," he smiled, "these are big enough to fit your feet now, and if they shrink back down, you just have to pull on the laces."

Luanne's smile was so big it threatened to crack her face in two.

Thinking ahead, Dell pulled out two pieces of metal. "But, I know the problem is reaching your shoes," he made a sad face that made Luanne laugh. "So," he held up the metal, "you can use these tong things to extend your grasp, and pull them, even if you're standing up."

He so demonstrated, then handed the tools to Luanne to try. When she succeed in tightening the laces she squealed with glee.

"Thanks, Dell!" She gasped, clearly having worn herself out just from being happy.

Still bare on one foot, Luanne held up the other to show off. "See?" She grinned, showing her neon green and white shoes off to Charlotte, expecting a smile in return, but getting nothing.

"Woah!"

A cry of surprise followed as Luanne began to lose her balance and fall backward, pinwheeling her arms to try to save herself. Quickly Dell stood up, grabbed her under her shoulders and straightened her back to standing.

Charlotte King watched the whole thing with grim amusement. She snorted in contempt, announcing coldly, "SHoulda let her fall."

"You can't be serious," Cooper hissed. He was really, really regretting having Charlotte as a girlfriend. This woman was definitely not mother material. Not havin' my kids, he thought.

"I am," she answered loudly so that everyone in the space knew she wasn't ashamed of her thoughts.

She looked at Luanne. "Do something stupid, and something stupid's gonna happen to you."

"You act like you got no sense, grinning like a five year old over a damn pair of shoes!"

Deflated, Luanne silently shoved her foot into the other shoe. Both were tight enough that they didn't have to be laced, but loose enough to be used as slip-ons.

"Get your stuff," she ordered. "We're goin' home."

"What? You said I get to stay here!"

"I changed my mind. You can stay at my place just fine."

Luanne rolled her eyes. She was about to add words to her visual statement, when Charlotte's forward motion cut her off.

In a sound like a thunder crack, Charlotte King slapped Luanne across the face.

"You ever do that again, you'll wish you hadn't!" Charlotte's words blurred together in one long shot of pissed off fury.

Openly glaring at the evil witch in front of her, but saying nothing, Luanne shoved her headphones in her ears, turned the volume up and switched songs.

From behind him he heard Violet snort with laughter when she recognized the old song. Garbage's "This is Not My Idea" whose whole chorus blared out, "This is not my idea of a good time," three times over as Luanne stomped away, trying to get as much distance as possible.

Looking at the tools Dell had provided for shoe tying, Charlotte snatched them from Luanne's grasp, and threw them angrily back at Dell.  
"You're perverted, you know that? Got a sick mind."

THe elevator doors closed the two in as Sam, who'd been watching the entire show in silence stepped forward to examine the evidence.

He looked confused.

"These aren't tongs,"he announced.

Dell let out a self-concious laugh. It felt like he was about to get in trouble.

"Well... no one had two pairs of tongs," he excused. "And, and she'd need two, one to pull one side and another to pull the other..."

Sam took them up from Dell's hands. "These are.." he stared at them. He knew he knew what these things were, he just couldn't place them. But he knew they were not BBQ tongs or anything of the sort.

Addisons' clacking shoes announced her approach before her voice did. Her hand swooped in and snatched the materials from Sam's open hand, and cleared up all confusion as well as answering just why Charlotte King had thrown these at Dell.

"Stop playing with the obstetric forceps, Dell," she let her voice show exasperation. As if this weren't the first time, which just made it funnier.

Sam jumped back as if bitten by a snake.

"Oh my god! That's nasty!" Nasty!"

He shook his head at Dell. Open mouthed in disgust and still shaking his head, Sam Bennett just pointed at the elevator.

"She was right about you!"

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If you've gotten this far, Congratulations! Now, review! Far too few of you are reviewing. That makes me kinda sad. Besides, I really wanna know what you think of this chapter! How'm I doin'?


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